Magnetic louver grille hanging system

ABSTRACT

A universal hanging system for securing louver grilles over duct openings that allows existing louver grilles to be interchanged. The hanging system comprises a ferromagnetic support member that is fastened to the surface adjacent a duct opening. A magnet is employed to removably attach a louver grille to the support member.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to hanging systems for louver grilles. In particular this invention relates to a universal hanging system that allows existing louver grilles to be interchanged.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Forced air heating and air conditioning systems are commonly used to control the temperature and humidity of an indoor environment in modern buildings. The systems generally operate by circulating the air within an enclosed space by drawing the air through intake louver grilles into intake ducts that lead to a furnace and/or air conditioner for controlling the temperature, the air optionally passed past a humidifier, before being circulated back through output ducts to exit through output louver grilles into the enclosed space.

Access to the intake and output blocks is typically blocked by louvered grilles that are affixed to the wall, ceiling or floor through which the duct opening exits. Optionally, the grilles may be fixed directly to the duct itself. The most common method of fixing the grilles is by securing them with metal fasteners, and in particular screws, sunk into the wall surface adjacent to the duct opening. Plastic grilles may have integrated clips for retention over the duct opening. Generally the grilles are fixed in place at the time the building is constructed, or when new ducts are installed in the building.

The air that is drawn through the intake grilles commonly carries dust, pollen and other suspended particles. These particles typically settle in the intake ducts and can create a potential health hazard.

It is generally recommended to have the ducts cleaned, at least once a year on changing over from cooling to heating operations. The process of duct cleaning involves removing, at least, each of the intake grilles and vacuuming out particles or debris that have settled in the intake ducts. Removal of the output grilles and vacuuming the output ducts may also be desirable, although is required less frequently because the air is typically filtered at the furnace or air conditioner unit.

Grilles are also used to cover ventilation or exhaust ducts. These grilles are similar in form to those used for heating and air conditioning ducts and often need to be regularly removed and replaced to facilitate cleaning or conducting repairs to any fan used to assist in exhausting air.

The grille serves an aesthetic purpose, concealing the rough edges of wallboard around the duct opening, but also has a safety function in that it forms a physical barrier that prevents access to the duct. The grille is thus securely fastened to the wall or duct by at least two fasteners, in order to prevent inadvertent dislodgment. The problem that arises is that having to remove the fasteners for every grille is extremely time consuming. Often grilles may have different fasteners, requiring different styles or sizes of tools from other grilles in the same premises. Moreover, repeated loosening and retightening of the fasteners may lead to the fasteners no longer being able to retain the grille in place over the duct opening. Solutions for securing the grille include drilling new holes for fasteners, using oversized fasteners or using a replacement louver grille that has fastener holes in different locations. Oversized fasteners can cause difficulties in that they may be less aesthetic, or may require drilling out the existing holes in the grille.

Plastic grilles often suffer from the integrated plastic clips breaking on removal, requiring a new replacement grille to be installed.

The difficulty with using replacement grilles is that grilles are intended to last for decades, and when one breaks the original grilles may no longer be commercially available. This results in the replacement grille being of a different style from the rest of the existing grilles in the building. The only solution to this problem is to replace all of the grilles in the building.

A need thus arises for a method of securing existing grilles in place without using conventional fasteners.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the invention there is provided a method and apparatus for securing a louver grille in place over a duct opening.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a hanging system for securing a louver grille in place over a duct opening that allows existing louver grilles to be interchanged.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a ferromagnetic support member and a magnet for removably securing a louver grille in place over a duct opening.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of securing a louver grille over a duct opening by securing the grille with a magnet to a support member that is fastened onto a surface adjacent to the duct opening.

Advantages of the invention include the ability to install a hanging system that is capable of accommodating and removably securing an existing louver grille in place over a duct opening without the use of fasteners.

Further advantages of the invention include the ability to replace the existing fasteners that secure a louver grille without having to replace the existing louver grille.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In drawings which illustrate by way of example only a preferred embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a support member.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the same support member.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an alternative support member that includes multiple holes to accommodate fastening means.

FIG. 4 represents an exemplar magnet.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of an existing louver grille.

FIG. 6 is a partially exploded view of an embodiment of the hanging system used in conjunction with an existing louver grille.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The louver grille 50 in FIG. 5 is typical of louver grilles commonly used to cover duct openings 60. The grille openings 52 may be simple slots in the grille 50, or more commonly include directional vanes that help to conceal the duct interior and, in the case of output ducts, to direct the flow of air out of the duct opening 60.

Louver grille 50 is usually constructed with an edge that extends back from the periphery of the face of the grille. The back of the edge generally rests in contact with the surface 70 that surrounds the duct opening 60 so that the face of the grille stands off from the surface 70 by a distance equal to the depth of the edge.

Louver grille 50 typically includes pre-cut holes 54 to accommodate a screw fastener that is driven into an underlying surface 70 (either directly or into a plug or anchor lodged in the surface 70) in order to secure the louver grille 50 over a duct opening 60. There is generally no provision in the prior art for alternate placement of the screw fastener if it strips out the hole in the underlying wall or ceiling surface 70.

The louver grille hanging system of the present invention makes use of ferromagnetic support members 10. The support members 10 are fastened to the underlying surface 70 with at least one fastener, adjacent to a duct opening 60. Optionally a support member 30 may include alternate holes for accommodating either multiple fasteners or to provide alternate locations for fasteners. The fasteners may be any one of those commonly used in the construction industry such as screws or nails, depending upon the composition of the underlying surface 70. Permanent fasteners such as nails can be used, because the support member 10 or 30 is permanently mounted and does not need to be removed. Alternatively, if the underlying surface 70 is not amenable to accepting a fastener, such as concrete, steel or glass, then an adhesive material such as glue or double-sided tape may be used to secure the support member 10 or 30 to the underlying surface 70.

If the support member 10 or 30 is sized smaller than a side of the louver grille 50, the fastening hole 12 in the support member 10 or 30 may be positioned over an intact portion of the underlying surface 70 and the support member 10 or 30 will still be covered by the louver grille 50. This way, a fastener may be repositioned without having to reposition the louver grille 50. An additional advantage to sizing the support member 10 or 30 smaller than a side of the louver grille 50 is that the support member 10 or 30 may be used with a variety of different grilles, so long as it is at least shorter than a side of a particular grille.

The magnet 40 permits easy attachment and removal of the louver grille 50 to the support member 10 or 30. If a ferromagnetic louver grille 50 is employed, then the magnet 40 may simply attach to both the louver grille 50 and the support member 10 or 30 by magnetic attraction. If louver grille 50 is made of a non-ferromagnetic material, such as aluminum, plastic or wood, then an adhesive material such as glue or double-sided tape may be used to attach the magnet 40 to the back face of the louver grille 50. Once attached to the louver grille 50, the magnet 40 may secure the louver grille 50 over the duct opening 60 by magnetic attraction to the support member.

In order to maintain the magnet 40 in contact with both the support member 10 or 30 and the backside of the louver grille 50, the thickness of the magnet 40 and support member 10 or 30 are chosen to approximately equal the depth of the edge that extends back from the periphery of the louver grille 50. In this way, the back of the edge will be in contact with the surface 70 adjacent the duct opening 60 when the backside of the louver grille 50 is in contact with the magnet 40 that is in contact with the support member 10 or 30 secured to the surface 70.

Since not all louver grilles 50 have the same depth of edge, shims may be employed to increase the extent to which the support member 10 or 30 and magnet 40 project from the surface 70 until it equals the appropriate depth. In this way the system can accommodate a wide variety of louver grilles 50 without requiring prior knowledge of a particular grille's dimensions.

Various embodiments of the present invention having been thus described in detail by way of example, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variations and modifications may be made without departing from the invention. The invention includes all such variations and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims. 

1. A hanging system for securing a louver grille over a duct opening in a surface, the system comprising: at least one ferromagnetic support member; and at least one magnet for attachment to a backside of the grille; wherein when the support member is fastened to the surface adjacent the duct opening and the magnet is attached to the backside of the grille and placed in contact with the support member, the grille is removably secured to the surface.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein the support member is sized smaller than a corresponding dimension of the louver grille.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the louver grille is ferromagnetic and the magnet is attached to the grille by magnetic attraction.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the support member is fastened with a screw.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the support member is fastened with an adhesive.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the support member is fastened with a nail.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the support member is fastened with double-sided tape.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the magnet is secured to the louver grille by an adhesive.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the magnet is secured to the louver grille by double-sided tape.
 10. The system of claim 1 further comprising, a shim placed between the support member and the surface, the shim thickness sized to place the magnet attached to the louver grille in contact with the support member when a back edge of the grille is in contact with the surface.
 11. The system of claim 10 wherein multiple shims are used to attain the shim thickness.
 12. The system of claim 2, wherein the louver grille is ferromagnetic and the magnet is attached to the grille by magnetic attraction.
 13. The system of claim 2, wherein the support member is fastened with a screw.
 14. The system of claim 2, wherein the support member is fastened with an adhesive.
 15. The system of claim 2, wherein the support member is fastened with a nail.
 16. The system of claim 2, wherein the support member is fastened with double-sided tape.
 17. The system of claim 2, wherein the magnet is secured to the louver grille by an adhesive.
 18. The system of claim 2, wherein the magnet is secured to the louver grille by double-sided tape.
 19. The system of claim 2 further comprising, a shim placed between the support member and the surface, the shim thickness sized to place the magnet attached to the louver grille in contact with the support member when a back edge of the grille is in contact with the surface.
 20. The system of claim 19 wherein multiple shims are used to attain the shim thickness.
 21. The system of claim 3 further comprising, a shim placed between the support member and the surface, the shim thickness sized to place the magnet attached to the louver grille in contact with the support member when a back edge of the grille is in contact with the surface.
 22. The system of claim 21 wherein multiple shims are used to attain the shim thickness.
 23. The system of claim 12 further comprising, a shim placed between the support member and the surface, the shim thickness sized to place the magnet attached to the louver grille in contact with the support member when a back edge of the grille is in contact with the surface.
 24. The system of claim 23 wherein multiple shims are used to attain the shim thickness.
 25. A method of securing a louver grille over a duct opening in a surface, the method comprising: fastening a ferromagnetic support member to the surface adjacent the duct opening; attaching a magnet to the backside of the louver grille; securing the louver grille and the magnet to the support member with magnetic attraction between the magnet and the support member.
 26. The method of claim 25 wherein at least one shim is placed between the support member and the surface so that the magnet contacts the support member when a back edge of the louver grille is in contact with the surface. 